David Henry Stech

May 18, 1915 - Dec 14, 1988

David Stech, 73, former associate art director of Life magazine and 40-year resident of Armonk, died Wednesday of a heart attack at home in Cape May Point, N.J. Mr. Stech worked for Life for 18 years until 1969. He left the magazine to become art director for On The Sound magazine, started by a group of former Time Inc. editors and writers.

He retired to Cape May Point in 1985. Before going to Life, he was a freelance artist and worked for the Office of War Information in Washington, D.C. He was born May 18, 1915, in Huntington County, Ind., to Harley and Lela McCrum Stech. He graduated from Pennsylvania College of Fine Arts and moved to Washington, D.C.

On June 4, 1943, he married Virginia West of Duluth, Minn., in Washington. She remains in Cape May Point, where the couple lived for the past three years.

Mr. Stech was a member of the Society of Illustrators and donated his time and talent to the American Mission Society and Armonk's celebration of America's bicentennial.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Stech is survived by his sons, David A. of Fairbanks, Alaska, Harlan W. of Duluth and Charles R. of Oak Ridge, N.J.; his daughters, Harriet Sloan of Raton, Marion Haisley of Havelock, N.C.; and six grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were handled by Sudak Funeral Home of Cape May, N.J.

Sources: Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com

11/28/2025 EJS